Synopsis for "Beware the Juggernaut, My Son!"

In their civilian guises, the X-Men are celebrating Bobby's 18th birthday at Coffee a Go-Go. After cutting Bobby's cake (wherein Bernard the Poet once more attempts to cut in for time with Zelda) the couples begin dancing. Scott and Jean dance with each other, while Jean wonders if Scott is dancing with her out of pity because she doesn't have a date, Scott wonders if Jean is interested in Ted Roberts, and wonders how he will tell her that he loves her. These thoughts are left to dwell when Warren arrives with Candy Southern and the group sits down and listens to another set of beat poetry by Bernard.

At the Mansion, the Professor finishes his long running experiment and is prepared for what he has to do next. Opening a locked room in the basement of the mansion, Charles reveals that he has been keeping the Juggernaut in a comatose state since his defeat at the hands of the X-Men months earlier. Recalling how his step-brother got his powers from the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak, the Professor wonders if he can restore Cain back to normal or if he will have to be forced to kill him instead.

While back at the Coffee a Go-Go, the X-Men's party is crashed when a biker gang called Satan's Saints comes bursting through the doors in their motorcycles to terrorize and attempt to rob all the patrons in the coffee shop. Unable to slip away and change into their X-Men costumes or blow their cover as mutants, the X-Men secretly use their powers and easily subdue their attackers who are then turned over to the police.

Meanwhile at the mansion, the Professor straps himself and the Juggernaut into a device that he hopes will use a combination of science and sorcery to send the energies that transformed Cain back into the realm of Cyttorak. However, the experiment is interrupted when a third powerful mental force interferes causing the machine to explode, knocking the Professor unconscious and freeing the Juggernaut. Once more awake, the Juggernaut realizes that he's somehow manages to absorb the Professor's mental powers. He then replaces his helmet and leaves the room to prepare a reception for the X-Men when they return home.

Xavier's students finish up their dates for the evening. Bobby's date with Zelda ends with Zelda and Bobby sharing a kiss and Warren departs from Candy thinking about how quickly they paired up following Warren's rebound from Jean. Scott himself confides some of his feelings with Jean almost going so far as to tell her how he feels. The conversation confirms to each other that they both have feelings for the other, and Scott decides that he must tell Jean his feelings soon.

Warren arrives home first, and when he notices that the lights in the Mansion are all off, he decides to search around in his Angel guise to make sure it's not an attack, unaware that the Juggernaut is silently watching. The other X-Men arrive and they also have the same idea and almost get in a fight with one another in the dark, thinking that the others are invaders. When the Cerebro alarm goes off, the X-Men rush to the Professor's study to see what mutant it's detecting and they are surprised to find it listing themselves as the threat. Suddenly there is a giant tremor which causes Cerebro to topple over and almost crush them.

Going down into the Mansion's basement to search for the Professor, they walk into the Juggernaut's trap. When Angel rushes forward, he is knocked out by the Juggernaut. He explains that he has come to get vengeance against the X-Men and begins to attack. While Marvel Girl is attempting to remove Juggernaut's helmet with her telekinetic powers, Iceman and Beast try a frontal attack. The Juggernaut easily knocks the two out, and Cyclops sends Jean to cover while he attempts to keep the Juggernaut at bay with his optic blasts. The Juggernaut strikes the ground causing a sonic wave that knocks Scott out and sends Jean sprawling to her feet. The Juggernaut approaches Jean, who tries to keep him at bay with her powers. Before the Juggernaut can strike, he is telepathically contacted by the masterminds of Factor Three who reveal their part in the Juggernauts revival and he is asked him to join them in Europe. The Juggernaut, believing Xavier to be dead and his students of no interest to him anymore, agrees to go and smashes out of the Mansion to seek out a jet to fly to Europe.

The destruction breaks a water pipe, and the rushing water revives the X-Men who find the Professor's unconscious body. Placing the nearly dead Professor into a bed, the X-Men decide that they have to go and stop the Juggernaut no matter the cost.

This story is continued next issue....

Notes

This issue celebrates Robert Drake's 18th birthday.

An alternate (and unused) cover was penciled for this issue, it featured Iceman, Beast and Angel attacking the Juggernaut, and Cyclops and Marvel Girl's heads incorporated into a text box.